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I’m going to try to keep this review as vague as possible, since "Jane the Virgin" is a series I believe you’ll be better off knowing as little as possible about to preserve your sense of discovery when tuning in.
Based on the Venezuelan telenovela of the same name, this delightful comedyis the most ridiculous show on the air and that’s a huge reason as to why it’s so wonderful.
This "Jane the Virgin" stars Golden-Globe winner Gina Rodriguez as our titular hero who accidentally gets artificially inseminated during a routine checkup.
The subversive series sees Jane’s unexpected pregnancy turn her life upside down with several storylines involving long-lost fathers, love triangles, scheming wives and a Czech crime lord. In other words, her life now resembles a state of mayhem as seen in the telenovelas she religiously watches with her family.
From the beginning of the pilot, "Jane" captivates viewers with its busy plot.
True to its telenovela roots, every episode moves at a fast pace that juggles a huge ensemble cast while burning through several storylines and featuring so many cliffhangers per commercial break you’re convinced every episode is a mid-season finale.
Admittedly, this is a hard show to pull off tone wise. It’s a mixture of comedy, drama, mystery and romance that revels in just how soapy it is. Every week, I worry that this show will derail into a mess. Somehow though, "Jane" has managed to avoid that and remains one of the most wonderfully endearing shows on air.
As the star of the show, Rodriguez is the glue that holds the entire thing together. Her heartfelt portrayal of Jane is reminiscent of Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope in the dearly departed comedy "Parks and Recreation." Like Leslie, Jane is a kind, dedicated and optimistic woman who is bursting with so much energy that you’ll want to be her BFF.
Because of Rodriguez’s lovely character and the show’s overall confident story line, "Jane the Virgin" manages to stay grounded in a state of fantastical realism that makes the absurd action onscreen come across as believable.
At the heart of the show is the love story presented onscreen. I’m not talking about the relationship between Jane and her detective boyfriend that opens the series, but the one between Jane, her mother and her grandmother. The bond that the three women have is a highlight of the series as the three of them support each other despite the generational gaps between them.
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Abuela, for example, is a Spanish-speaking, religious woman who hammered down the importance of virginity to Jane at a young age. Jane’s mother, Xiomara, serves as the poster mom for getting knocked up as a teenager and hopes Jane avoids her fate.
The back and forth the trio have is rich and filled with compassion toward one another. Their relationship is one of the rare, positive television depictions of family that reflects the strength of friendship between women that feels equally part tradition and — thanks to the delightfully absurd onscreen drama — weird.
I worry the show’s quick pace will result in "Jane the Virgin" overstaying its welcome within a few seasons. For now though, let’s celebrate that TV currently has a show as wonderful as "Jane the Virgin" that is such a joy to watch.
"Jane the Virgin" airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on the CW. All previous episodes are available for purchase on iTunes and Amazon.
